


Starstruck

by ggtwrites (thewritingsofahydrangea)



Category: SF9 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Conflict, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, POV Third Person, Role Reversal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-08-29 16:23:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16747441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewritingsofahydrangea/pseuds/ggtwrites
Summary: Sometimes you fall for someone you know you’ll never meet, but what would happen if you did meet them?





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a very special fic for me, and I'm really happy with it. I hope if you read it that you enjoy it! I'll try and post the chapters over the next few days, but some might take a little to come out!

Taeyang sighed as he stared at his phone. He rolled from his back onto his side and sighed again before muttering to himself, “Sometimes you fall for someone you know you’ll never meet.” He knew he was being overly dramatic but he couldn’t help it. It didn’t seem fair to him that someone so wonderful lived so far away.

Sprawled across a couch, Taeyang was looking at a photo of his favorite singer, who lived in a country far from his, who had never toured in anywhere close to him, and who he would most likely never even see in person. Despite this, he couldn’t help but wish he could meet her. She was so talented, and she had such a pretty smile. She made him happy in a way he couldn’t explain, and he loved everything he knew about her.

“Are you staring at photos of Y/N again?” teased Jaeyoon, one of his roommates, as he came up behind the couch Taeyang was currently sprawled on.

“Yup,” Taeyang rolled his eyes at the teasing tone in Jaeyoon’s voice. He had been teased about looking at photos of Y/N many times before, and he was pretty much used to it at this point. As Taeyang looked back to his phone, more of his roommates came into the common area where he was sitting.

As soon as all of them were sitting down, and Taeyang was sitting up, making room for some of his roommates on the couch he had been occupying, Jaeyoon spoke up. “We are gathered here today to discuss Taeyang and his obsession with the celebrity known as Y/N. Yes, this is an intervention”

“No, that’s tomorrow, remember?” Corrected Dawon, a wide smile on his face.

Taeyang groaned and put his head in his hands. Knowing them, it was possible they were serious. Hopefully they weren’t, but sometimes it was hard to tell.

“Oh, yeah. So why are we here today?” Jaeyoon asked, as he turned his attention away from the groaning Taeyang to Youngbin, the leader of the group of roommates.

Youngbin started talking, discussing the issues and events that had occurred since the last all roommate meeting, including the alarming increase in people being woken up by late night singing in the shower, and then going over the chores for the week.

Once the meeting was over, the roommates all headed their separate ways, and Taeyang resumed his sprawl on the couch. Even if no names were mentioned, and even if most of the roommates didn’t know who Youngbin’s comments had been directed at, he still felt bad about the whole late night singing thing, as he knew himself to be one of the main culprits. 

He just couldn’t help it, it was so easy to just start singing Y/N songs, and he sang them, or at least hummed them throughout his days. There was just something so wonderful about her music that it seemed to follow him everywhere, and if he wasn’t currently focusing on something, he probably had a Y/N song playing in the background of his mind.

As he sat there, Taeyang went over his plans for the week. He had been debating whether or not he wanted to visit his favorite cafe. It took him some time to get there, so he didn’t go there as often as he might otherwise, but he enjoyed the peace and quiet it gave him. 

For the most part he enjoyed having his roommates coming and going and being around, but sometimes he wanted the calm and relaxing atmosphere he found at the cafe. He enjoyed having an occasional moment to himself, and the cafe was a good place to find one of those moments. After some time thinking about it, he decided that he would go later that week.

\---

The day that Taeyang had decided to go to the cafe came, and he made his way there carrying one of his favorite books. As he settled into his favorite chair, his book placed on the table in front of him, Taeyang glanced around the cafe, and in the process almost had a heart attack. 

There, on the other side of the cafe, sitting at a table with another girl, was someone who looked startlingly similar to Y/N. Just as his breath was stabilizing, she looked right at him. Their eyes locked. She smiled at him, and Taeyang felt his breathing stop as his brain ceased to function. Wow. He had been killed by one of the sweetest smiles he had ever seen. 

Taeyang ducked his head down as fast as he possibly could, thankful for the partition near where he was sitting. That girl. From the quick glimpse he had gotten, she looked incredibly similar to Y/N. How was it possible that there was a girl here in Korea who looked exactly the same as his celebrity crush? And how was it possible that she smiled at him?

As Taeyang sat there with his hands clenching the table in front of him and his head practically between his legs, he felt his face heating up. She. Had. Smiled. At. Him. His brain stopped working for a moment as it tried to process this information, the smile replaying in his head as he felt his face get warmer and warmer.

His brain suddenly started up again, only to cause him to freak out more as another thought occurred to him. What if it wasn’t just a girl that looked like Y/N but was in fact her? In this cafe. The amazing singer he had thought he would never even get to see in concert, in his favorite cafe, having smiled directly at him. Her smile always was one of his favorite things about her, and he felt that even more strongly now. He wasn’t sure which possibility seemed less likely, there being a girl who looked like Y/N, or Y/N being right here in the same cafe as him. 

He slowly raised his head, and looked in the direction he had seen her. He was both hoping he would make eye contact with her again and wishing he wouldn’t. From what he could see, she seemed to be busy talking to her friend, so Taeyang was safe from being killed by her smile again. For now. 

Since she wasn’t looking in his direction, he decided it would be okay to take a moment to decide if she really did look exactly like Y/N, so he could contemplate the possibility of it actually being her. As he studied her, he came to the conclusion that this girl did indeed look exactly like Y/N. 

He had already witnessed how beautiful her smile was, her hair was the same beautiful color as that of Y/N, and her side profile was identical to Y/N’s. She laughed, and as the sound reached his ears he knew this had to be Y/N. There were too many features of this girl that were exactly the same as Y/N’s for it not to be her. 

Feeling that if he stared anymore she might notice, he looked away. He pulled out his phone, but unfortunately his attempts to distract himself only lead to more thoughts of Y/N. Taeyang had so many thoughts running around in his brain that he found it difficult to focus on anything. He still couldn’t quite believe that it really was her, but at the same time how could it not be her? Unless she had a twin. But Y/N had never mentioned having an identical twin in an interview, and she was pretty open about her family. 

Pausing from his thoughts for a moment, and without entirely intending to, Taeyang looked in the direction of Y/N again, and found himself staring right into her eyes. She smiled and waved at him from her corner of the cafe. And Taeyang was no more.

Not only had she smiled again, but she had waved this time as well, all while looking straight at him. As Taeyang face started turning red his brain attempted to recover enough for him to respond like a normal human he realized that she was no longer looking at him but was talking to her friend again. Had he smiled back? He wasn’t sure if had but he really hoped so. 

Taeyang put his phone away and rested his head in his hands. He sighed. He had never realized seeing his celebrity crush in person would be such a mentally draining and possibly life-threatening experience. He sat there, trying to recover, and by the time he looked up again, peeking over the partition near where he was sitting, she was gone. 

This caused even more turmoil for Taeyang, as he felt sad he could no longer see Y/N, and yet he felt relief. He had not expected to see her, and had been so totally unprepared that it seemed to him that his brain had been swept up into a mental typhoon of panic and amazement. 

He sighed again, and started to wonder. Would he ever see her again? He had no idea if he would, but some part of him held onto the hope that she might come here again. Even if he never saw her again, Taeyang was thankful that he had gotten to see Y/N, something he never thought would be possible. He grinned, which had the effect of making his face seem much brighter than it had before, as he replayed the moments in his head again. Y/N had smiled at him. Twice. And she had waved at him. This cafe, already his favorite, would now forever hold an extra special place in his heart.

\---

Once he had calmed down from the experience, Taeyang realized that he had until completely forgotten the whole reason he had come to the cafe. He looked at his book, which had been lying on the table this whole time. He considered staying at the cafe to try and get some reading done, but decided that after the excitement of the day, it would be better for him to head home. 

And so Taeyang made his way home, his face lit up with a soft smile the entire time. As he entered the apartment he shared with his roommates, one of them passed by the entry way, and seeing Taeyang he stopped.

“Oh, Taeyang, you’re back already? I thought you’d be gone for longer.” Zuho gave Taeyang a questioning look as he studied the younger man’s face.

“I was planning on staying there for a while, but then, well, you’re not going to believe this, but Y/N was at the cafe! And she looked at me. And she smiled at me. And she waved. It was a magical experience, one I will never forget.” As Taeyang was saying this, his smile got bigger and brighter as he remembered Y/N’s smile.

The look on Zuho’s face changing from questioning to skeptical. “You saw Y/N. In a cafe, here in Korea. Are you sure it wasn’t just someone who looked like her?”

“I thought that at first, but it had to be her!” Taeyang exclaimed, “She looked exactly like Y/N! Far too similar to just be a look-alike! It was definitely her. I know Y/N’s smile, and that was most definitely Y/N’s smile! It was such a beautiful smile, and it was directed at me! Right at me! Not only once but twice!”

Inseong poked his head around the corner at that moment and asked, “What are you two doing just standing in the hallway? If you want to talk we have a perfectly fine common room exactly for that purpose.”

Zuho turned from Taeyang to look at Inseong, “Taeyang says he saw Y/N at a cafe.”

Inseong raised an eyebrow. “Y/N? At a cafe near here?”

Taeyang nodded his head emphatically. “Yes! It was definitely her! It had to be! Right there, at that cafe I’ve told you about!” 

Due to the level of Taeyang’s voice as he kept insisting on what he knew to be true, the rest of his roommates were drawn to the entryway. The next to enter was Rowoon, who was followed closely by Youngbin, Jaeyoon, and Dawon.

Taeyang looked to the two there with pleading eyes, hoping that they might believe them, but before he could even explain the situation to the rest of them, Inseong spoke. “Guys! Taeyang was told us some most unbelievable news! He claims to have seen his beloved celebrity Y/N at his favorite cafe!”

Jaeyoon moved towards Taeyang and shook his hand enthusiastically. “It seems congratulations are in order dear Taeyang! Today is a special day!” He let of the younger man’s hand, only to rest his arm around the shoulders of Taeyang. “I must say you are very lucky as well, to have gotten to see your dream girl. However, I must ask, are you sure you didn’t just imagine this girl you saw looked like Y/N because you think about her so much?”

Pushing Jaeyoon’s arm off of him, Taeyang huffed. He was starting to feel his enthusiasm fade, replaced by a frustration. “I’m sure it was her! It had to be. Why would I make something like this up? And she didn’t just look like Y/N, she was exactly like Y/N! So much so that it had to be her! She had the exact same smile and laugh as Y/N!”

It was at this point that Youngbin spoke up, “It’s not that we don’t want to believe you, Taeyang, as much as it’s simply very difficult to believe that you really saw Y/N. From what you’ve said about her, she lives in the US, and we would all certainly know if she had a concert near here, because you’d be very excited about it. And even if she did have a concert nearby, it would be incredibly unlikely that you’d see her.”

“But it really was her!” Taeyang protested. His roommates all let out a sigh, but he was determined. He really wanted them to believe him. And he wanted them to be at least a little excited that he had seen someone so special to him, who he had been sighing about never getting to meet just earlier that week.

“How about this, what if we all go to the cafe later this week?” Taeyang suggested, “Maybe she’ll be there again, and then you can all see for yourselves!”

“Hmm,” Youngbin said, “that seems like a long shot. There’s no way of knowing what time or day she’d be the most likely to go there again. But if it’ll make you happy, I’ll go with you.”

Taeyang beamed at his roommates as they all murmured in agreement. And so, they all agreed on a day and time to go to the cafe. Now Taeyang just had to hope that she’d be there.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! I don't really have much else to say.

A few days after Taeyang saw Y/N at the cafe he went there again, this time with his roommates in tow in the hopes of seeing her again. As they entered, Taeyang looked around, but there was no sign of her. He’d really wanted to see her again, and he still needed to prove to his roommates that he had actually seen her, and not someone that just looked like her, as they kept suggesting. But today did not seem to be the day for that to happen.

Seeing Taeyang’s face droop, the sunniness he usually emanated dimming, Youngbin suggested that since they were here anyway, they should all find a place to sit, get something nice to drink, and chat. They found a table with enough room for all of them, and left Taeyang slumped in a chair to watch the table while they all got their drinks.

He hadn’t realized how much he had been hoping to see Y/N again until the reality of not seeing her hit him. He knew the unlikelihood of seeing her once, let alone twice, but after seeing her in his favorite cafe, he had let himself become hopeful.

He knew he shouldn’t be this upset, but all the same he felt a hollowness inside, mixed with regret and longing. He knew he should have tried to talk to her when he had seen her, but he was so in shock at seeing her there, and now he was afraid he had lost his chance forever. What if she never came back here? What if she had just been there on a short visit and had already flown home? What if-

His thoughts were interrupted by his roommates returning with their drinks, including one for their despondent younger friend. Jaeyoon set a drink down in front of Taeyang and sat down next to him. “C’mon Taeyang, there’s no need to get so down. Maybe you’ll get to see your Y/N lookalike another time. If she visited here, she might live in the area.”

Taeyang looked up, and was about to reply, when suddenly there was a yelp and a smoothie making its way across the table. The owner of both, Dawon, looked guiltily at the mess, as did Inseong sitting next to him. The two looked to have been shooting straw wrappers at each other just moments before, and it was probably their attempts to dodge the straws being shot that caused the smoothie to be knocked over. Zuho sighed as Rowoon panicked, the smoothie oozing in his direction.

Being the closest one to the napkin dispenser, Taeyang managed to snap out of his moping and jumped up, “I’ll go get some napkins!” He ran in the direction of the dispenser, but in his hurry,  he focused too much on getting to the napkins and ran into someone.

Thankfully he hadn’t been going fast enough to cause any damage to himself or the person he had bumped into. “I’m sorry!” He said, the person he had bumped into saying the same words at the same time. He looked at the person, and the feeling of his breath stopping overcame him once again. The person he had bumped into in his haste for napkins was Y/N, and at this moment she was staring right at him.

As Taeyang stood there frozen, Y/N spoke up, “I’m so sorry for bumping into you! I was distracted and not paying attention at all! Are you okay?”

She spoke with a slight accent, he noticed, as he pondered if any of this was real. She was even prettier close up, standing there, looking at him with concern. It took him a moment to realize that he was just looking at her, still frozen, and that he should probably say something. A weak, “yes,” was all he could manage to get out.

Y/N smiled a small yet genuine smile, and Taeyang stopped breathing again. “I’m glad!” She said, “These aren’t the best circumstances to meet, but all the same it’s nice to meet you! I’m Y/N!”

He tried to gain some more control over his own breathing, and said, “Um. Yes, it’s nice to meet you too. My name is Taeyang.”

In response, her smile grew bigger, and he felt like his whole world was getting brighter. But before he could be completely blinded by her smile, she spoke. “Oh! That’s a nice name!”

As Taeyang processed her words, his face heated up and he felt the urge to duck his head down. He managed to keep his head up as he bit his lip, trying to speak. That was what he should be doing, speaking, thanking her. But the small compliment she had given him, totally unexpected, had taken him by surprise.

He was able to overcome his shyness enough to respond, and said a quiet thank you, not quite meeting Y/N’s eyes, because he knew if he did, it would have made thanking her much harder than it already was.

“Um, so,” Y/N started, and Taeyang was unable to avoid looking into her eyes. Her eyes were so soft as she looked up at him, and he was too caught up in her eyes to notice, but just as he had been blushing a few moments ago, now she was as well.

“I saw you here a few days ago, do you come to this cafe often? Are you from this area? Oh! I’m sorry if that’s too personal a question, since I just met you, but I was curious since this is the second time I’ve seen you here!” After she’d finished speaking, Y/N looked down at the floor as she fidgeted with her hair, one hand twirling a strand of it around her fingers.

She was even cuter than he could have imagined. She was so sweet. Taeyang had a hard time stopping himself from dwelling on the thought that this all might be a beautiful dream, that he would wake up to find none of it had happened. For now, Taeyang decided, what he needed to do was get through this conversation without losing focus every time she looked at him.

“Yes,” he said, “yes to both.” He felt like it would be polite to ask her something similar, as she had been doing most of the talking in their conversation so far, so even though he already knew that she lived in the US, he asked her, “How about you?”

Y/N smiled again before she spoke, “I’m here on vacation, visiting a friend of mine. She lives in the area, and comes here from time to time, so she brought me here, and I liked it a lot, so we came again today.”

“How long are you staying here, if you don’t mind me asking?” He hoped she wasn’t almost done with her trip, that maybe, just maybe, he would be lucky enough to see her again.

She thought for a minute, and then said, “Well, at this point, I’ve been visiting for about a week, so I have about two weeks left until I head home.”

When he heard this, the small smile that had been on his face throughout the conversation so far grew bigger. He might get to see her again. It might be unlikely, but it was possible. Wanting to make sure the conversation kept going, and wanting to know more about her while he had this chance to talk to her, he asked, “Have you been here, to Korea I mean, before?”

“Yes, but only once before this trip,” Y/N replied with a nod of her head, “I came to visit Cindy, that’s the name of my friend, although I only stayed for about a week last time.”

The two kept talking, Taeyang asking about where Y/N had visited so far and what her plans were for the rest of her vacation. Their conversation might have continued on for a very long time as they started to talk about common interests, but Y/N’s friend came up, reminding her that they had plans that day, and that they needed to leave soon.

Y/N seemed to want to continue talking, something that made Taeyang much happier than he would have thought it would. Y/N gave Taeyang her KakaoTalk ID, explaining that it would be easier for them to keep in touch that way, even when she was back in the US, and said goodbye, waving as she walked out of the cafe with her friend.

Taeyang walked back to his roommates, his mission of napkins completely forgotten in the wonder of having gotten to talk to his celebrity crush. And he didn’t just get to talk to her, she had given him a way to contact her, to talk to her more. And she was even prettier up close than he would have ever imagined her to be.

As he walked up to the table, a smile so happy and filled with sunshine it was almost blinding on his face, he found that there were six pairs of eyes staring at him accompanied by an eerie silence not often found when all of his roommates were present.

Taeyang waited for a moment, standing there in front of the table, waiting for someone to do or say something. When nothing happened, he spoke, “Uh, hey guys.”

Zuho said, “You forgot about the napkins,” and that was all the response he got.

“Um. Well.” He remembered why he’d gotten up from the table in the first place, something he’d completely forgotten the moment he had started speaking to Y/N. She had become all he could think of so quickly he hadn’t had time to even think about getting the napkins after he had finished talking to her. However, as Taeyang looked at the table, it seemed that someone else must have gotten napkins, as the table showed no signs of the earlier smoothie spill.

As Taeyang struggled to think of something else to say, to explain what had happened, Youngbin stood up, “We have more important things to do however, it’s time to go home.”

The rest of his roommates nodded and stood up, much to Taeyang’s confusion. They were acting very strangely, and he couldn’t figure out why, or even what he should do in this situation. As he was trying to figure things out they gathered around him and ushered him out of the cafe, not a single word spoken.

They walked in silence for a few blocks before they couldn’t keep themselves from speaking, and then there was a sudden rush of exclamations and questions, like a dam breaking, and Taeyang was the poor soul swept up in the ensuing flood.

At first, he couldn’t understand what any of them were saying in the torrent of words from so many of them speaking all at once, and only a small portion of what they were saying was being said directly to him, making it even more difficult to understand. He was able to catch a few words and phrases like, “can’t believe it,” and, “right there,” but what really caught Taeyang’s attention was when he heard, “Y/N.” As he heard that he started to realize that maybe they had seen him talking to Y/N.

This suspicion was confirmed when Youngbin had quieted everyone down, and placing a hand on Taeyang’s back he said “We didn’t think that something so unlikely would actually happen, but we’ve been proven wrong. That definitely did look exactly like Y/N.”

Taeyang’s face lit up with a smile as he looked around at his roommates and asked, “Does this mean you all believe me now, that I did see Y/N?”

As they all nodded, Jaeyoon smirked, “It seems now you’ve done more than just see your beloved celebrity crush, from where we were sitting, it looked like you were talking to her. Was it a fulfilling conversation? How do you feel after such a momentous occasion?”

The brightness of Taeyang’s smile made his roommates feel the need to cover their eyes as they might if they were staring into the sun as he told them about his conversation with Y/N.

As he got to the end of recounting his conversation with Y/N, Rowoon spoke up and asked, “So how did she react when she found out you’re a fan of hers?”

Taeyang suddenly stopped walking, causing Zuho, who had been walking behind him, to bump into him. “Oh.” Taeyang said, “I forgot to mention that.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next one!

While Taeyang hadn’t seen Y/N since they had met in the cafe due to her busy trip schedule, they had been messaging each other frequently, and he had come to consider her a friend. That was quite the thought, being friends with someone he had once thought he would never meet.

A someone he also had a rather large crush on. Becoming friends with Y/N had not lessened his crush on her, in fact it only made it grow as he learned more about her and got to experience how sweet and caring she could be firsthand.

As they talked, Taeyang’s roommates had come up in conversation from time to time, and Y/N had mentioned being curious about them, and so he asked her if she wanted to come over to his apartment and meet them before she went back to the US, and she said yes.

On the day that Y/N had planned to come over, Taeyang was running around, trying to make sure the apartment was clean. His roommates were nowhere near as worried, so their progress was at a much calmer pace. Some of them even teased him a little about his panic, but despite the teasing and pace of cleaning, much to Taeyang’s relief, they were able to clean it to what he thought were acceptable standards.

He checked his phone, and saw that he had received a message from her, telling him that she was on her way. He felt his nerves picking up, and attempted to slow his breathing down. He thought he’d probably be more used to her since they had been talking, but he still wanted to minimize the amount of irregular breathing that happened while she was around.

In what seemed like no time at all, she had messaged him again to say that she had arrived outside his apartment. As he rushed out the door to greet her he yelled, “She’s here!” to his roommates, who were currently relaxing in the common area of their apartment.

As he reached the entrance where Y/N was waiting, his face lit up with a bright smile and he called out, “Hi Y/N!”

Y/N’s face lit up with a smile of her own when she saw Taeyang, and he was reminded again of how beautiful her smile was. “Hi Taeyang!”

They both stood there for a moment, smiling at each other, before he asked her, “Are you ready for the experience that is meeting all six of my roommates?”

“I think so. We’ll have to see. After I meet them I can tell you whether or not I was actually ready.” Y/N gave a little laugh, and Taeyang felt like the sun was shining and he was standing in the warmth of its rays.

Thankfully her laugh hadn’t affected him so much that he was unable to think or move, so he led her up to his apartment with no difficulties. As they stood outside the door, he turned to Y/N and said, “It’s time. Once we step inside there’s no going back, you will meet my roommates.”

She nodded, and Taeyang opened the door. They stepped into the entryway and took their shoes off, and then he led her down the hallway to the apartment's common area and poked his head in, to see that his roommates were all still there.

Taeyang walked in, with Y/N following behind him. “Everyone, this is Y/N. Y/N, these are all of my roommates.” He said with a flourish towards his roommates, who were in the process of standing up. They came and crowded around Y/N to introduce themselves to her.

First was Youngbin, attempting to assert some level of control over the situation before things got too crazy. He greeted her with a warm smile, “I’m Youngbin, it’s nice to meet you Y/N. Thank you for coming over, we were all eager to meet you after Taeyang told us about you.”

Y/N looked over at Taeyang, who had stepped back for a moment to wait until the chaos that was his roommates had settled down. She tilted her head slightly, and he thought it was really cute. Then again, he thought a lot of things she did were really cute. But this was especially cute to him, the way it seemed her whole body was about to ask a question.

“You’ve told them about me?” She asked, her eyes showing a mix of curiosity and embarrassment, and he could tell that she wondered what kind of things he had said.

As he attempted to answer, feeling a blush starting to rise in his cheeks, he was saved from having to respond by Jaeyoon taking the moment of silence to move closer to Y/N, so now he was the one closest to her. “No need to worry Y/N,” he said with a smile, “our dear Taeyang speaks highly of you! Which is why we were all so eager to meet you! I’m Jaeyoon, by the way.”

Just as Jaeyoon was about to say more, Dawon pushed his way closer with an “Excuse me,” and shook Y/N’s hand saying, “It’s a pleasure to meet you! My name is Dawon, and I’m the leader of this merry bunch of roommates!”

Inseong snorted at Dawon’s claim and said, “No you’re not,” and moved Dawon to the side so he could be the one in front of Y/N. “I’m Inseong. I’m the brains of this group. Sometimes it feels like I’m the only brains of the group, besides the closest person we have to an actual leader, Youngbin, of course.” He smiled at Youngbin, who rolled his eyes.

“And this gentleman standing here next to me,” Inseong said as he gestured towards Zuho, “is Zuho.” Zuho smiled and nodded, Y/N nodded back.

Next it was Rowoon who pushed his way forward, an eager smile on his face. “Hi Y/N!” he said excitedly, “My name is Rowoon. Taeyang’s been telling us about you for months so it’s really nice to get to meet you!”

Taeyang’s face went pale as Y/N tilted her head to the side again. “What do you mean months?” she asked, “I only met him a week ago.”

Seeing the confusion on her face, Rowoon attempted to backtrack and fix his mistake saying, “Well, I didn’t mean literal months of course, but it certainly feels like that long with how much he’s talked about you!”

She looked like she was about to accept that as truth, with some blushing on both her part and Taeyang’s, due to what Rowoon said about Taeyang talking about her a lot, when Rowoon kept talking, “Yeah! He’s told us a lot about you, he even mentioned what a great singer you are!”

“I… Never told Taeyang that I’m a singer.” As she said this the room grew very quiet. There was no way to try and explain what had been said away, and everyone knew this. Once again Taeyang’s face went pale, and he knew he had some explaining to do. Rowoon looked guiltily at Taeyang as he and the rest of the roommates were herded out of the room by Youngbin, leaving only Y/N and Taeyang.

As they stood there, he felt so unsure. Should he say something? Should he wait for her to speak? What was he going to say when he did speak? Y/N looked at him, and there was both confusion and hurt in her eyes, as if she wanted to know, but at the same time wasn’t sure how she would feel about the answer. Despite this, she asked, “How did you know that I sing? I know I didn’t mention it to you.”

Taeyang breathed in and exhaled slowly. The truth would be the best option at this point he decided, and so he said, “It’s because I’m a fan of you, of your music. You’re my favorite artist and I’ve been following your music for about a year at this point.”

“Were you going to tell me this?” She asked. Her eyes still showed hurt, but there was a layer of ice and accusation on the surface, and he felt a similar coldness growing inside him, although his was mixed with dread and worry.

Hearing the tone in her voice hurt Taeyang, it made him want to comfort her, but he thought that was probably the last thing she wanted from him right now. How was he going to explain this? He’d been trying to figure out how to tell her about it from the moment he’d realized that he hadn’t told her when they’d first met. But he still didn’t know how, and now he was forced with having to try to explain it.

“I’m sorry! I wanted to tell you, I really did!” Taeyang started, and then his words just tumbled out in a mess of thoughts as he tried to explain, “The first time we talked, I got caught up in the conversation, and then you left, and it wasn’t until I was on my way home that I realized that I hadn’t told you that I was a fan of yours. And after that I wasn’t sure how to bring it up, and there never seemed to be a good time to mention it. And then it got to the point where I felt like it would be awkward to tell you since I’d gone as long as I had without telling you and I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you but I just couldn’t. I’m really sorry you had to find out like this.”

Taeyang looked down, too nervous to look at her face. He might have just forever ruined his friendship with Y/N. A chance he never thought he would have, and it might be over because he couldn’t find the words to tell her something he should have told her when he first met her.

Y/N breathed in a long breath before replying, her voice much colder than he had ever heard it before, “I wish you would have told me when we first met, or at least soon after we started talking to each other. I understand why you didn’t tell me, but I’m going to need some time to think about this all the same. I’m going to go take a walk and think for a bit, and when I get back, we can talk about what this means for our friendship moving forward.” Y/N stood up, and without another word she walked out of the apartment.

Taeyang sat down on the couch closest to where he had been standing, still trying to process what had just happened. As he sat there, his roommates reentered the room and gathered around him. Rowoon stepped forward first and said, “‘I’m sorry Taeyang. I was so excited to meet her that I didn’t think about what I was saying!”

With a sigh Taeyang said, “You don’t need to apologize, you had no way of knowing that she hadn’t mentioned her singing to me. It’s my fault for not telling her sooner.”

“I still should have been more careful about what I said,” Rowoon protested, “I knew that you were working on telling her, so I should have kept that in mind more.”

Youngbin sat down next to Taeyang, “What’s done is done. But Taeyang,” he continued as he put his hand on Taeyang’s back, “If she really is as nice as you’ve told us, I don’t think she’s going to completely shut you out. She may be hurt for some time, and she might be wary of you, but if you’re patient and kind, I think she’ll be able to forgive you.”

“You didn’t see the look in her eyes,” Taeyang replied, “I hid something from her, and it hurt her. I hurt her. Even if she forgives me, I don’t know if I can forgive myself.”

His roommates looked at each other, but they weren’t sure if any words of comfort would reach through the regret hanging around him.

After some time had passed there was a knock on their apartment door. Hoping it was Y/N, Taeyang rushed to open it. It was her. The hurt under the ice in her eyes had been replaced with seriousness. Y/N, who was usually as bright as the sun, had become like the moon. She was as beautiful as ever, but without the warmth he was used to.

He started to say something, but before he could, Y/N started speaking, “After thinking about this whole thing, here are my thoughts. I’ve enjoyed talking to you a lot, and overall I think you’re really nice, but this was a big thing not to tell me. It’s going to take some time before I’m fully able to trust you again. I don’t want to just stop being friends with you, but I need some distance. I don’t think continuing like nothing happened is possible, and I feel like it would be best for us to take a break from talking, at least until I feel like I can talk to you comfortably again. I hope you can understand that.”

Taeyang’s heart dropped. Even if it was temporary, the idea of not speaking to her was almost more than he could handle. He had grown to enjoy his conversations with Y/N so much, and to just have to stop, hit him hard. But he also knew that it was unreasonable of him to expect her to simply forgive him with no consequences when he hadn’t even forgiven himself yet, so he replied, his voice quiet, “Yes, I understand.”

“Good. Please thank your roommates for letting me come over. Goodbye, Taeyang.” As she walked out the door of the apartment, she turned back for a moment, and gave a small, sad smile, the ice fading from her eyes, and then she was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next one! And things get fluffier! Which isn't a surprise if you know me, I'm very much one for fluff.

It had been several weeks since Taeyang had heard from Y/N. He knew she had made it back to the US safely because it had just been announced that she was going on tour in a couple of months, but that was all he knew. There had been so many times that he had looked longingly at his phone, wanting to message her, but he hadn’t. He was respecting her wishes, and it hurt, but he knew that how she felt was more important in this instance, and it seemed that she didn’t feel like talking to him.

No matter how hard he tried to go about his life normally, a heaviness hung over him. He kept wondering if she would ever message him again, and every time his phone buzzed, he jolted, filled with hope, but each time he was disappointed to find that it wasn’t her. 

Over time the pain faded, and he started to wonder less about if she would ever message him. The heaviness lifted for the most part, but there was still a small part of him that longed to hear from her. He had stopped frantically checking his phone every time he got a notification, and now hardly even looked at his chat with her.

But just when he was ready to give up on his hope of hearing from her, he got a notification that lifted the weight still lingering in his heart. He had felt the vibration from his phone, and checked to see what it was, and almost choked on air. There, on his screen, was the name “Y/N” with the words, “How are you doing?” below. He quickly unlocked his phone and opened her message, feeling far more excited than he thought such a simple inquiry would ever make him.

He gazed happily at his phone, the world around him brightening just a little bit. She wanted to talk to him again. Deciding it would be best to keep his reply simple he messaged back, “I’m good, how are you?” and left it at that. It wasn’t much, but it was a start, and it made him feel hopeful that they could talk and be friends again.

At first it felt like there was a wall of awkwardness between the two of them, and most of their conversations were very short, but as they talked more and more their friendship became stronger. The more they talked, the brighter the world seemed to Taeyang, and every conversation they had brought the two closer together.

Y/N had a way of making all of his worries disappear when he was talking to her, and when she messaged him, “I feel like I can trust you again,” it felt like the world had become just a little bit more beautiful in his eyes.

Since it had been revealed that Taeyang knew that she was a singer, Y/N brought it up from time to time, telling him about her inspirations and the memories connected to her songs, how much she enjoyed singing, and the joy that music gave her. It was one of the things she cared about most, and it really showed in the passion she had when she talked about it.

Along with listening to her talk about music, he would tell her about his favorite songs of hers, which ones made him feel deep emotions and which ones made him want to dance. He had even shared with her a guitar cover he had done of one of her songs. She thought it was wonderful, and told him so, which caused him to flail around, embarrassed by how much her compliment made him happy.

Was it possible to be falling for someone this long, to think that you care about them as much as you can, only to start caring about them more? Taeyang wondered this often, and even brought it up to his roommates and friends. They were happy that he was back to his usual self, but often rolled their eyes when he started to ramble about how important Y/N was to him.

As time went on, Y/N started on the tour around the US that had been announced during the time when she wasn’t talking to him. While she was busy, she still found time to tell him about her day, the traveling she did, and the cities she visited. It was nice to hear about what was going on in her life, but at the same time, for Taeyang, it made him wish he could see her in person again more and more, especially since they were getting along so well. 

A small part of him got upset every time she mentioned friends she hung out with in person. What would it be like to get to see her frequently, to be close to her not just through messaging but by actually being there? He knew it wasn’t fair to Y/N to start feeling frustrated when she mentioned the friends she met as she toured, and even worse the ones on tour with her, but it was difficult for him to not feel jealous all the same.

He spent more time than was really necessary sprawled on the various couches in the apartment common area, sighing about Y/N. It was worse than having feelings for someone who he knew he would never meet, these feelings towards her when she was so far away. These feelings were far deeper; he really knew her, and she knew him, something he never would have thought possible.

About a month after finishing her tour, Y/N released a new album. He thought it was amazing of course, and made sure to tell her this with lots of exclamation marks and exuberant shouting via voice clips. Once she had finished promoting her album, she took a break from performing and making music, stating that she wanted some time to rest before the next step in her career.

What she only told her family and friends, including Taeyang, was that she was planning another trip to Korea. This made him beyond happy, and he spent the rest of the day after she told him bouncing around the apartment with joy, his sunny grin wide on his face. Admittedly she had said she was mostly coming to visit her close friend, the one she had visited on her last trip, along with a rest like she had told the public, but she had also promised that she would make time to visit with him on her trip as well, and that was enough for Taeyang.

\---

As the time of her visit approached, he became more and more excited. Every time he thought of Y/N his whole body seemed to get just a little bit brighter, and he spent most of his time smiling. His excitement also began to overflow his mind, causing him to tell his roommates almost constantly. And she had said she would visit him. He would get to spend time, in person, with the girl he kept on falling for.

During one of his thinking-about-Y/N sprawls a few days before she was arriving in Korea, and about a week before he would get to see her, Taeyang was struck with a thought that caused him to sit up abruptly. This drew the gaze of Inseong, who also happened to be in the common area at the time.

Curious as to the suddenness of his youngest roommate, Inseong asked, “Is something wrong Taeyang?”

Taeyang turned towards Inseong, his face much paler than it normally was and his eyes open wide. “I,” he started and then stopped, breathing for a moment before he continued, “forgot to plan what me and Y/N will do when we meet up. I got so caught up in the thought of seeing her that it totally slipped my mind.”

“Do you have any ideas of what you’d want to do with her?” Inseong asked, “Anywhere she’s mentioned that she’d like to go or anything she wants to do?”

After thinking for a moment Taeyang said, “This is a vacation for her and a rest from her career, so something calm would be nice, and simple too. Just a nice place to hang out.”

“How about a park?” suggested Inseong, “There’s a nice one nearby with lots of trees and benches, perfect for enjoying a nice day. And there’s a cafe right across the street from it, so if it rains you have somewhere to go.”

Taeyang nodded vigorously, “That sounds good! I’ll check with Y/N to make sure that she’s okay with that idea, but I think that should work well! Thanks!” He smiled at Inseong and went to his phone to tell Y/N about his newly formed plan. She agreed to meet him at the park Inseong had suggested, and so it was decided that they would meet there on the day they had scheduled to hang out.

\---

It had finally arrived, the day that Taeyang would get to see Y/N. After all these months of only being able to message her, he finally had a chance to see her in person. He stood near the edge of the park, at a spot where it would be easy for her to find him. There was a strange fluttering feeling in his chest, but he wasn’t sure if it was more due to him being nervous or excited. He was feeling both, but it was hard to tell which of the two was stronger at the moment. 

Soon, either too soon or not soon enough, he wasn’t sure which, he saw her. Their eyes met and she smiled that incredible smile of hers, walking over to him. Taeyang gave her a smile of his own, his whole face brightening. As Y/N got closer he greeted her with a, “Hi!” his smile getting even wider.

“Hi,” she said in return, “it’s good to see you!” She stood next to him, a smile still on her face as she looked at Taeyang with bright eyes. As he looked back at her, he took in her appearance. Her hair was loose, and the light breeze blowing through the park made it move slightly, catching the sun as it did. Her outfit was simple, but it suited her perfectly.

His smile was still on his face, so happy to finally see her in person again, “It’s good to see you too, Y/N! Are you ready to explore the park?”

She nodded her head, “Yeah! What are we going to do first?” As she finished her question, Y/N tilted her head to the side, something she had done before when curious, something that always made Taeyang’s heart flutter. She looked so cute when she was curious, the way she tilted her head, the way her eyes lit up.

“Well,” Taeyang said, “since it’s such a nice day, I thought we could wander down one of the paths in the park and just see where it takes us!”

“It really is beautiful today, that sounds like a wonderful idea! Lead the way Taeyang!” She said, her smile growing even brighter. She stood there, waiting yet eager to explore the park.

And so they started down one of the many paths in the park. As they walked they looked around admiring all the beautiful nature there was to see. The two also talked, catching up on all the little details of their lives they hadn’t talked about already. While they talked pretty frequently, due to how busy Y/N’s life was, there were things they didn’t have time to mention to each other.

It felt so good, to get to hear her voice, to see her face, and to learn about all the little details in her life that she told him. This was one of the most wonderful days Taeyang had ever experienced, and he wanted it to last forever. Just the two of them, walking together on a beautiful day, smiling and talking. He didn’t think anything could compare to how happy this made him.

His thoughts about the day were interrupted however, when a voice behind him called out, “Hey, Taeyang!” He turned around to see who had called his name, and saw two of his friends, Hwiyoung and Chani, walking towards him. As they approached, Chani greeted them both with a, “Hello!” and Hwiyoung waved.

Taeyang replied with a, “Hello!” of his own, and Y/N smiled, nodding her head.

“I haven’t seen you at this park before,” Hwiyoung commented, “What are you up to?”

“I’m spending some time with my friend, Y/N.” Taeyang gestured to her and she gave a little wave to his two friends as he continued, “She’s visiting from out of town this park seemed like a nice place to catch up.”

For the first time they fully noticed Y/N, and they both smiled. “Oh hello Y/N, it’s nice to meet you!” Chani said, and she nodded with a smile as he continued, “My name is Chani.”

“Yes, Taeyang has told us so much about you, so it’s nice to get to meet you ourselves!” Hwiyoung said with a teasing grin on his face as he added, “I’m Hwiyoung.”

Taeyang narrowed his eyes at his friends, hoping to convey that he’d rather not have them discuss how much he talked about Y/N, with Y/N standing right there. But his silent message didn’t seem to have any effect on the two as they kept on grinning at Y/N.

“Ah yes, that’s very true. He does talk about you a lot,” Chani said, “In fact, sometimes it’s hard to get him to stop talking. You’re one of his favorite things to talk about,” There was a grin similar to Hwiyoung’s growing on Chani’s face as he continued, “I can tell he really enjoys being friends with you.”

Standing there, glaring at his younger friends, Taeyang felt a blush creep up his cheeks. He looked over to Y/N to see what she thought of this whole thing, hoping that it wasn’t making her uncomfortable, only to see her looking at the ground. She stood there, her face hidden under her hair, before she took a deep breath and lifted her head back up.

She smiled at the two, “Oh is that so? Well, I’m glad to hear that, I also enjoy being friends with him.” Y/N turned to Taeyang and smiled softly. He wasn’t quite sure, due to how much of his attention was taken up by the smile she was currently giving him, but it almost seemed to Taeyang like her face was a shade redder than it had been a moment before.

He didn’t have time to ponder on this however as the conversation quickly concluded. “Well, it’s been nice meeting you Y/N, but I think it’s time for us to head on,” Hwiyoung said and then added, “Take good care of Taeyang, okay? He cares about you a lot.”

As the two of them walked away, they both grinned at Taeyang, who gave them one last glare before they disappeared around a corner of the path. With a sigh he turned to Y/N, “Do you want to keep walking? If not, we could see if there’s a bench farther along the path and we could sit down for a bit.”

Y/N thought for a moment before she replied, “I think I’d like to walk a bit more, this park is really nice, and I’d like to see more of it.”

And so they kept walking, wandering through the park for a couple more hours, enjoying all the sights of the park. As the afternoon went on, the time passed far too quickly, and before Taeyang was anywhere near ready, it was time for Y/N to head back.

As they walked back to the entrance of the park, enjoying a quiet moment with each other, a thought that had been running through Taeyang’s mind for most of their time together hit him full force. This might be the last time he saw her for another painfully long time. When they’d planned to meet up, he had been too excited about getting to hang out with her to ask if it was possible to see her more than just once before she was gone again.

And given how long it had been between this visit and her previous one, it might be a very long time until she came here again. His thoughts rushed by in a flash as the two of them continued to walk. Should he tell her how he felt? There was no way of knowing when he’d next have a chance to see her in person, and if he was going to confess, he wanted it to be face to face.

He considered how it might make things awkward between them again if she didn’t feel the same way, but there had been awkwardness between them before, and it was no longer an issue. And he could still be friends with her, even if it might hurt to know she didn’t feel the same way, he valued her friendship and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

It would be better to just get it out, to confess his feelings now. There would be less pining after her this way, and it would give him time to move on. Before he could over-think himself out of doing it, he breathed deeply, “I know you have to leave soon, but there’s something I need to tell you.” 

She stopped and turned to look at him, once again tilting her head in that way Taeyang found so cute. Taking a deep breath, and then a second one, he composed himself, quieting his nerves as much as he could under the circumstances.

He spoke quickly in an attempt to get his words out before he had a chance to reconsider, “I like you, a lot. I thought you were wonderful when I only knew you through your music, but now that I’ve gotten to really know you, I think you’re even more wonderful. You’re a kind friend and talking to you is always one of my favorite parts of my day, and I care about you so much. I know we can’t see each other much in person, but I really want to be more than a friend to you.” He bit his lip, nervous to look at her to see her response, but also wanting desperately to hear her answer.

Looking at her, he saw a smile on her face, more beautiful than any he had seen from her before. “I like you too, Taeyang,” Y/N said, her eyes shining with happiness, “It makes me so happy to know that you feel the same.”

Now it was Taeyang’s turn to smile, a bright and happy smile, as beautiful as hers in its own way. The two of them stood there, just smiling at each other for what seemed like both a very long time and nowhere near long enough.

He broke the silence by asking, “If you have some time before you go home to the US, could we maybe go on a date? I’d like to take you on at least one soon, since it might be some time before you can come here again.”

“Yes, I have a day where I don’t have any plans yet!” She exclaimed, the smile never leaving her face. “I would like that a lot. Going on a date sounds really nice.” To emphasize her feelings she nodded her head, her arms starting to wave around in her excitement.

“Great! That’s great!” Taeyang’s smile kept getting brighter as the reality sunk in. While on the outside he was simply standing there with a huge smile on his face, on the inside there was a party, complete with fireworks and confetti.

Y/N nodded her head again saying, “Yeah! Unfortunately, I do have to go now, but I’ll message you and we can work out the details of our,” she paused to give him another smile, this one filled with excitement, “date! I can’t wait!” She moved closer to Taeyang and gave him a quick hug before darting off, giving him one last smile and a wave as she headed off.

As he thought about what had just happened, he couldn’t help but let some of his inner party out, jumping up and down a few times. Then he made his way home, practically skipping. This had been one of the best days of his life.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lotta fluff! :D I hope if you read it that you like it!!!

Taeyang kept fussing with his hair, his fingers pulling through it again and again despite the fact that he knew it probably looked fine. He needed something to do with all the nervous energy coursing through his body.

He couldn’t remember many times he had felt like this, but they were usually right before something really big happened. And this was certainly one of those times. He was waiting for Y/N, and the two of them were going on a date together.

It was hard for him to believe that it was true, but here he was. Less than a year ago he didn’t think he would even get a chance to see her perform, and yet, somehow, he had not only met her, but become friends with her. And even more than that, he was now going on a date with her. He had been so incredibly happy and excited when she had said yes, and while he was still excited, a nervousness similar to what he had felt just before asking her was also present.

Waiting for Y/N to arrive was difficult, giving more time for nerves to settle and fester, but he wanted to make sure he wasn’t late, so he’d gotten to the botanical garden earlier than he needed to. As he stood there he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he found himself faced with the girl he had just been thinking about.

Y/N stood there in front of him, a smile on her face that made his heart melt. Taeyang’s breath stopped, completely overwhelmed in that moment. She looked beautiful, everything about her gave him a sense of wonder. She continued to smile at him, a piece of hair twirling between her fingers. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He said back. The two stood there for a moment simply smiling at each other, the silence almost becoming awkward. But Taeyang was able to pull himself together. “Are you ready to see some plants?”

She nodded, “Yeah! This is gonna be great!”

Taeyang smiled and led the way as they entered into the botanical garden. While he had been there before, it was Y/N’s first time, and she was in awe of the variety and number of plants, especially the flowers. Wonder lit up her face as she became fascinated by all there was to see.

“Look at these flowers, Taeyang!” Y/N said excitedly, pointing to a large patch. They had bright orange petals sticking straight up from a stalk that looked almost like the beak of a bird.

Seeing the flower, Taeyang’s smile brightened. “Oh, those are Bird of Paradise flowers!”

Y/N turned to him, curiosity in her eyes, “You know about these flowers?”

“Yes!” He said with a nod, his eyes lighting up with excitement. “As you know, flowers are a hobby of mine, and I like learning about them, especially all the names for the flowers. I come here to work on recognizing all the different flowers they have here!”

“Oh really?” Y/N asked with a grin, “Can I test you then?”

He nodded, “Sure! Pick any flower you’d like, and I’ll try my best!” He beamed at her, excited for this chance to get to share about something that meant so much to him.

Y/N wandered around, deciding which flower to ask him about. Stopping in front of some round flowers with tiny petals she turned to Taeyang. “Okay, how about these ones?”

“Ah, these are dahlias,” he said with an excited smile. “They come in many different colors, and some even have petals where the color shifts, usually a dark color to white. The most common colors tend to be pink, red, orange, purple, and white. But they can also come in other colors. And the petals themselves can vary as well. Some are very rounded, some have pointed tips, and some are very long as well as having pointed tips.”

As Taeyang finished speaking he blushed, realizing how much he’d started to ramble. “Sorry! That was kind of a lot. Dahlias are a species of flower I know a lot about.” He ruffled the hair on the back of his head, looking down at the ground.

“No, you’re fine!” Y/N promised, “I like learning new things, and I can tell that you care about flowers a lot! And,” she added, now blushing a little bit herself, “it’s really nice to see you so excited like this. Your passion for flowers is wonderful. You haven’t mentioned them much before, but I’m glad to get to hear you talk about them now.”

“Oh,” was all Taeyang could manage, taken aback by the compliment. “Um. Thank you.”

“No problem!” Y/N blurted out.

Both of them stood there looking at the ground, still blushing, until something caught Taeyang’s eye. “Y/N! I see a flower I really want to show you!” Y/N nodded, and he led the way over towards some flowers with soft petals that looked like something in between a carnation and a rose. They were in a variety of colors, but mostly shades of pink and purple, with some being white as well.

“These are lisianthus,” Taeyang explained, “which is my favorite flower.”

Y/N smiled at him encouragingly, “Tell me about them!”

He felt his heart melting once again. She was so sweet, and wonderful, and willing to listen to him ramble. Y/N truly made him so happy. “Okay, so, I think they’re really pretty! They look so nice, and they have a really nice texture too! They don’t have a fragrance, but their looks make up for that, and they come in some amazingly pretty colors! While not many people know them by name, they’re used in bouquets sometimes!”

As he finished, Y/N was still smiling. Her smile was so beautiful, even more beautiful than the flowers he liked so much. “Thank you for telling me about them, it’s so nice to learn about something that you care so much about!”

“No, thank you!” Taeyang said, “Thank you for listening.”

“Of course,” Y/N replied, smiling once again, “what kind of person would I be if I didn’t listen to someone I care so much about?”

Taeyang looked down at the ground again, blushing, unsure of what to say.

But he didn’t have to say anything, as Y/N said, “Let’s keep going, I’m sure there’s lots more pretty flowers that you can tell me about! Like that one over there!” As she pointed, Y/N grabbed Taeyang’s hand, pulling him towards the flowers that had caught her eye.

But Taeyang couldn’t move, frozen at the feeling of her hand around his. As she felt the tug of him not moving, Y/N turned back towards him with widened eyes, her body coming to a sudden halt. She looked at him with apologetic eyes, but she was still holding his hand as her face turned red. “Sorry! I wasn’t thinking! I should have asked first before I just grabbed your hand like that!”

Taeyang’s eyes widened as well, still shocked by the feeling of warmth of her hand holding his. It seemed like somehow that warmth had gotten into his cheeks as well. “No! I mean, it’s fine. Um, you can, hold my hand, if you want to.”

“I do want to,” she said. He nodded, and with the two of them still blushing, they kept walking hand in hand. It took some time before they were able to speak again, but once they did they chatted about the plants they saw and random topics that came up. While Taeyang wasn’t quite as passionate about the plants that weren’t flowers, it was still fun to look at them, especially with Y/N at his side.

As they exited the botanical garden, still holding hands, Y/N asked cheerfully, “Where to next?” She swung their hands back and forth as she smiled up at Taeyang, who was suddenly finding words a bit more difficult when she was looking at him with such a soft happiness in her eyes.

“Well,” he finally managed, “I was thinking we could go get some ice cream if you want to.”

Y/N nodded excitedly, “That sounds great!”

And so they made their way to a nearby ice cream parlor. Even as they got their ice cream, neither of them let go of the other’s hand. Exiting the shop, they strolled down the street, walking hand in hand as they enjoyed their ice cream.

Once all their ice cream was gone, Y/N checked her phone, making a pouting face when she saw the time. As she looked up at Taeyang, a pout still on her lips, he realized that he would do anything for her when she made that face. “I’m sorry, Taeyang, this has been really fun, but I think it’s about time for me to head home.”

Taeyang felt a wave of disappointment sweep over him, but he did his best to hold himself together. Despite his best efforts, he had a slight pout on his face as well. “Aww, that’s too bad. But I understand. I think your home is pretty close at this point, I’ll walk you home.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Y/N protested.

“I want to,” Taeyang said gently, and Y/N nodded. They smiled at each other, and he got lost in her eyes for a moment. But then she gave his hand a squeeze and they started walking towards the apartment complex where she was staying with her friend.

As they walked, there was silence between them, with only the noise of the street preventing them from walking in complete silence. “Taeyang?” Y/N asked, and he looked down to find she was looking up into his eyes.

Her eyes were so beautiful, their color was breathtaking, and there was a depth and kindness to them that he knew reflected her personality. Thankfully, he was still able to respond. “Yeah, Y/N?”

“Thank you for today, this was really nice. It’s been so good to spend time with you like this.” With a smile she squeezed his hand, and Taeyang felt like all was right with the world.

Smiling back, he replied, “It was my pleasure. Thanks for spending time with me today. I’ve really, truly enjoyed this.”

Sooner than Taeyang would have liked, they were in front of the door to her apartment. She let go of his hand and turned to him, a serious look in her eyes. “Taeyang, there’s something I want to ask you.”

“So, we went on this date today, and it was really nice, and we’ve both said that we really liked each other, so I was wondering,” she took a deep breath before continuing, “If maybe we could be a couple.”

Taeyang started to reply, his eyes showing a very clear answer, but Y/N stopped him. “Before you answer, I want you to really think about it, because I don’t think it’ll be easy. With my career as a singer in the US, and you living in Korea, it would be a long distance relationship. And, for the sake of our privacy, and your safety as well, our relationship would be something that we would keep as a lowkey thing until we talk and decide, together, that we’re ready to go public.”

Nodding, Taeyang listened as she kept speaking, his eyes now as serious as hers. “If you’re willing, I really do want to be in a relationship with you, but I want to make sure that you’ve really thought about it first, because it could be difficult. But,” she added, with warm eyes and a soft smile, “I think it’d be worth it, with you.”

Without a second thought he said, “Yes, I don’t care what it’ll take. I want to be with you.”

“I want you to really think about this, Taeyang.” Y/N said, an eyebrow raised, “You should care, or at least be aware of the hardships that may come with this. I want you to be sure. I don’t want you to be hurt if things go badly, I care about you too much to let you just make this decision without taking the time to think it over.”

“But I don’t need time to think!” He protested, “My answer won’t change!”

Y/N took one of his hands in hers, holding it gently as she looked pleadingly into his eyes. “Please, Taeyang, for me. Wait to give me your answer. If you’re able to, meet me at the park five days from now and we can talk again.”

Sighing, Taeyang relented. “Okay. I’ll see you then. Take care, Y/N.” With one last squeeze of her hand he walked away, smiling softly at her. She waved goodbye, the determination in her eyes in contrast with the softness he also saw there as she gazed fondly at him.

\---

This time, it was Y/N who was waiting nervously. She was twirling her hair around her fingers when Taeyang came up to her, a gentle smile on his face when he saw her. “Y/N,” he said, and she turned around, her eyes lighting up when she saw him.

“Taeyang!” She gave him a bright smile. “How’ve you been?” They hadn’t talked much since their date, Y/N wanting Taeyang to have time and space to really think about his answer. While it frustrated him to have to wait, it also showed how much she cared about him.

Drawn in by her smile he smiled back, “I’ve been good, how about you?”

“I’ve been good too. Well, also, kinda nervous,” she trailed off with a laugh.

“I’m ready to give you my answer,” Taeyang said. He’d had plenty of time to think and he was ready to tell her. “I want to be with you. I considered everything you said, and it certainly won’t be easy, but, I care about you, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes for this to work between us.”

Y/N’s face, which had been serious moments before, lightened up as she beamed at him, happiness radiating off of her. “Really? I’m so happy!” She bounced her heels, her whole body communicating how she felt. Suddenly she rushed forward, throwing her arms around Taeyang.

“Yes! This is going to be the best!” Taeyang nodded, wrapping his arms around her, one of the brightest smiles anyone had ever seen on his face. Y/N looked up at him, still smiling. The two of them gazed happily into each other’s eyes, contentment practically radiating off of them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like how this chapter turned out!

It had been about a month since Y/N and Taeyang had started to date, and although they talked nearly every day, they hadn’t seen each other at all in that time due to the distance between them. But today was the day they would finally be together again, after what felt like far, far too long.

Taeyang was waiting at the airport terminal. His whole body felt alive, the excitement at seeing her again almost overwhelming him. He scanned the area, looking for her. From what she had said about her flight, Y/N was supposed to be there soon. Part way through his scan he saw a familiar pair of eyes that met his, and instantly his whole body filled with warmth. They both grinned, and he waved at her as she rushed towards him.

“Taeyang!” She called excitedly, one hand waving as the other pulled a suitcase behind her. As she came fully into view, he was once again blown away by how beautiful she was. Pictures didn’t do her justice, and even if they did do video chats, it wasn’t the same as seeing her really there, right in front of him. It felt like a part of him had come home as she came to a stop in front of him.

Clearing his throat, all he could get out was a, “Hi,” as he beamed at her, the whole air around him brightening from the light of his smile. Taeyang held his arms open and Y/N quickly let go of her suitcase to put her arms around him.

“It’s so good to see you,” she murmured into his shirt, and he rested his chin on top of her head.

“It’s good to see you too, Y/N,” he said as the two of them stood there, simply happy to be together again. However, the couple started getting awkward glances from the people around them, and so with reddened cheeks they stepped apart, their hands finding the other’s. “Let’s get you to Cindy’s apartment and we can talk more tomorrow.”

Y/N nodded, letting go of one of his hands to hold hers up to her mouth as she yawned, “That sounds good.” Once she had grabbed her suitcase they left the airport and got a taxi to where she was staying with her friend. During the ride Y/N started to doze off, her head leaning to the side until it came to rest on Taeyang’s shoulder.

In that moment he felt that he would never be able to move again, her presence against his shoulder something precious that should never be disturbed or else risk the end of the world. Sadly, however, as the taxi pulled up in front the of the apartment complex Y/N woke up, covering her mouth as she let out a quiet yawn.

“We’re here already?” She asked, and he nodded. The two of them got out of the taxi, Taeyang taking hold of her suitcase despite her protests. “I can carry it!”

“I know you can,” he said gently, “but you’ve had a long flight and you’ll be dealing with jet lag soon enough, please let me help you.”

She pouted, and he almost handed the suitcase back to her, despite how much he wanted to help her. But then she shrugged and led the way up to her friend’s apartment. Once the suitcase had been deposited inside and Y/N was in the arms of her loving friend, Taeyang smiled and waved. “Let me know when you’ve settled in, okay?”

“Sounds good! See you tomorrow, Taeyang!” Y/N wiggled out of her friend’s arms and gave him a hug that was over far too soon. After being away from her so long, he wanted to hold onto her forever. She looked up at him, the beautiful smile of hers he loved so much beaming up at him.

His smile brightened and stayed bright as he waved again and made his way home, excited to get to see his lovely girlfriend the next day.

\---

Around noon the next day Taeyang got a text from Y/N and he got ready to go meet up with her. They ended up at the same park they had gone to on her last visit, as it gave them a peaceful place to enjoy each other’s presence.

As the couple walked, they caught up on anything they hadn’t talked about while apart. Once they’d done this they started rambling about random topics, bouncing from one to the next. And throughout their wanderings they held hands the entire time. While their faces had gotten significantly hotter at first, this level of physical affection still new to them, as time went on Taeyang felt like he was at home, and judging from the contented smile on Y/N’s face as he talked, she felt the same.

After they had walked around for a bit they settled onto a bench, enjoying the sounds of nature around them. But Taeyang felt himself distracted, his gaze drawn to Y/N. She was so pretty, and she looked so happy. Seeing her like this, a thought crossed his mind. He tried to push it away, his cheeks reddening.

He fiddled with his fingers until Y/N put her hands over his. “Hey, are you okay?” She asked with concern.

“Me? Oh, I’m fine,” he laughed awkwardly, “I was just, thinking.”

Y/N tilted her head as she often did when curious, “Oh? What were you thinking about?”

Taking a deep breath, Taeyang steeled himself. This might be his best chance to say it. “Well, you see, I was thinking about how pretty you are, and well, I maybe, might have, been thinking about asking if I could kiss you.” Finishing what he had wanted to say he looked into her eyes, his sincerity making him slightly less flustered than he might have been otherwise.

“Oh,” she said quietly, her eyes widening in an instant, a flustered look written on her face.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to!” Taeyang said hurriedly, looking down at his hands, “I would understand if you weren’t ready or anything like that. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

Y/N laughed gently, and he looked up to find her looking at him with loving eyes shining with warmth. She still looked flustered as she shook her head. “No, I do want to. I was just surprised, that’s all. You can kiss me.”

He broke into a brilliant smile, and needing no further encouragement than her permission he leaned forward. They both closed their eyes, leaning into each other, and in an instant their lips were touching. The kiss was short, but it was sweet and filled with care for each other.

As they pulled away the couple looked at each other, their eyes filled with contentment. Unable to say a word, incredibly happy and yet very flustered, the two sat there looking into each other’s eyes. And in that moment, to them there were no other people in the entire universe other than the two of them. The famous singer and her handsome boyfriend, the normal guy and his beautiful girlfriend.

\---

While Y/N was visiting Korea, she went on several dates with Taeyang as well as simply spending time with him. For both of them, it was a wonderful time filled with many happy memories. However, moments like that couldn’t last forever, and far too soon it was time for her to go back home.

On their last day together, the couple decided to hang out at Cindy’s apartment. Since she was out today, it was much quieter than Taeyang’s apartment which was filled with his roommates, many of which were often noisy. They wanted their last day together to be about just being with each other.

And so they sat on the couch in the living room, both looking at their own phones, their shoulders softly pressed together as they enjoyed the quiet presence of the other. Suddenly Y/N broke the quiet, “Hey Taeyang?” She turned towards him, her phone now resting on the couch next to her.

Taeyang set down his phone and turned towards her, “Yes?” Their eyes met and once again he was swept up into their depth. Her eyes were so beautiful, he didn’t think he’d ever be tired of gazing into them. And although she hadn’t verbalized it to him yet, Y/N felt the same way about his eyes.

“I should have told you this sooner, but I just wasn’t sure how to say it.” She fidgeted with her hair like she often did when she was nervous, a habit Taeyang had picked up on over the course of their time together.

Between her words and her fidgeting, he found himself focusing much more on what she would say next. Her eyes, although still beautiful, were far less distracting when she said something that made him nervous like this. “What is it?” He asked her. It was better to just hear what she had to say than to torture himself with the worst possibilities.

“Well, you see,” she sighed and then just spilled out everything she wanted to say, her words coming very quickly. “I’ve been talking with my staff about creating a new album and I’ll probably start working on it as soon as I get back so I’m going to be really busy for a while. This album is going to be a really big deal and I’m going to be doing a lot of work on it. So it might be a long time before I can visit you again.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t told you about this until now, I just didn’t want you to be worrying about that while I was here, I just wanted to enjoy this time with you.” Y/N looked down, once again fidgeting with her hair.

Taeyang leaned towards her and softly kissed her cheek. Her eyes widened as he spoke, “Hey, it’s okay. I understand. I’m glad you told me before you went back at least.” There was no way he could harbor any resentment against her when it was clear that her intentions were good.

She smiled softly, “Thank you.” Taking his hands in hers she continued, “It makes me very happy that you’re so supportive, being with you makes thing so much better for me, having someone like you in my life is truly a gift.”

“Oh,” was all Taeyang could say, shocked by the sincerity in her words. More than a simple compliment, her words struck him to the core and filled him with warmth. This warmth made its way to his cheeks and he looked down, unable to meet her eyes. “Thank you for saying that, it is very kind of you.”

Y/N laughed, and the sound was almost more beautiful to him than music. “There’s no need to sound so formal, I’m just telling the truth. You really do mean so much to me.”

Still blushing, Taeyang looked up, his eyes locking with hers. “And I feel the same about you. Y/N, my life is so much brighter with you in it. It makes me so happy to be with you.”

\---

The next day the couple was at the airport, with Y/N’s friend Cindy tagging along as well. For all three it was a tearful goodbye, and Y/N was hugged more times than she could count. None of them wanted the trip to be over, but she couldn’t stay.

“I’m going to miss you so much.” Taeyang murmured into Y/N’s hair as he held her tightly for one last hug. He kissed the top of her head, and then when she looked up he kissed her forehead as well.

“I’m going to miss you too.” She responded as she reached up, her arms coming around his neck. It was close, but she was just able to stand tall enough to kiss him on the lips. As she broke away from him, Taeyang was speechless.

Cindy, still standing there, rolled her eyes. “Guys, this is an airport. Maybe save the affection for somewhere else? And Y/N, I’m pretty sure you need to get going.” She gave her friend, now a bit flustered despite being the one to initiate the kiss, a hug. Y/N waved at both of them and then grabbed her suitcase. Soon, she was out of sight.

Still flustered from the kiss, Taeyang just stood there, until Cindy patted his shoulder. “C’mon, we should both get going. No point in just standing here now that Y/N is gone.” He nodded, and the two of them went their separate ways, both back to their own apartments, both saddened to no longer have Y/N close by.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter! I decided to just go for it and post this, so here it is!

Distance makes the heart grow fonder, Taeyang had decided, was not true. For him, distance just made his heart grow sadder. He was sprawled on the couch, much like he had many months before when he had yet to meet Y/N. But now instead of looking at pictures of her, he was scrolling through past conversations with her, thinking back on all the happy moments the two had shared. 

More recent conversations, however, did not give him the same feeling of happiness. While he still enjoyed every time he talked to her, their talks were often cut short due to Y/N’s busy schedule and exhaustion because of her busy schedule. Taeyang missed the days when he would wake up early just to have more time to talk to her, now even if he did wake up early, she was usually busy during that time.

He let out a long sigh, trying to release the sadness pent up in his body, but it didn’t help. He missed her, and nothing seemed to help take his mind off of it. Missing Y/N had begun to weigh him down, the months since he had last seen her becoming more and more difficult.

While he hoped that she missed him just as much, Taeyang wondered if she was too busy to really miss him. And maybe that wasn’t fair of him to think, but that didn’t stop him from thinking it. And, he also wondered, what her missing him would do. Would it make him feel better, knowing that she was suffering the way he was? Or would it make him feel worse, knowing that she was hurting and there was nothing he could do about it?

He couldn’t bring himself to ask her, worrying that the conversation would hurt more than it would help. All he knew was that she told him that she missed him. And so he simply believed that she did, and tried to keep his sighing to a minimum.

\---

During their time apart, while Y/N was still busy touring, the couple’s six-month anniversary came around. They had talked about the day in advance, and she had promised to take the day off from working to spend time with Taeyang.

Waiting impatiently for her call he sat on his bed. Since most of his roommates were out at the moment, this made for a decently private spot to talk with Y/N. As time passed Taeyang began to worry, the time she was supposed to call him had already come and gone. He kept glancing at the time on his phone and checking for messages, not paying attention to anything else around him. 

After what felt like hours, although according to his phone it hadn’t been nearly that long, he sent her a message asking if she was okay. No response. Not even a quick, “talk to you later,” or “sorry, busy.” He got nothing. Several hours later, after he had given up and started to busy himself with chores around the apartment, she called him. Never before had Taeyang answered a call as quickly as he did in that moment.

“Y/N?” He asked into the phone. 

She hadn’t enabled video call, so he couldn’t see her face, but her voice was laced with tiredness. “Yeah, Taeyang, sorry for taking so long.”

“No,” he was quick to say, “you’re fine.” But as much as he wouldn’t admit it, he didn’t think it was fine at all.

“I really am sorry though,” Y/N said with a heavy sigh, “I know I said I wouldn’t do anything today, but there was an issue with the preparations for the next concert and my management decided to drag me into it. But I can talk now.”

Trying to look on the positive side of things Taeyang sounded as happy as he could, “Well, what matters is that you’re here now. Happy anniversary, Y/N!”

“Happy anniversary, Taeyang. I know these past months have been hard, but I’m really happy to have you in my life.” While she still sounded tired, there was sincerity in her voice, and it helped him feel better than he thought words could have.

“I feel the same way Y/N, you really are special to me. And,” he hesitated to add more, but before he could overthink his words he said, “I miss you so much.”

A sigh could be heard from the phone before Y/N spoke again. “I miss you too.”

“Do you know when you’ll be able to come visit again?” Taeyang asked, his voice cautious but hopeful, wishing that she would say soon.

Another sigh from Y/N. Taeyang was becoming worried about how tired she was, it wasn’t often he heard her sigh this much. “Honestly, it’s still going to be another two months until I’m able to take time to come to Korea. There’s still a lot I need to do here, and I can’t cut anything short. I wish I could, really I do, but it’s not that easy, especially with all the work that goes into a tour.”

He tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice, but he wasn’t successful. “Oh.”

“I know, Taeyang. I wish it wasn’t like this, but this is an important part of my career. And as much as I care about you, I also have a duty to all my fans that support me and already bought their tickets. I have a small break in touring, but it’s for interviews, and then the tour keeps going.” While Y/N did truly sound like she wasn’t happy with the way things were, it was hard to for him to not feel a little frustrated about the whole thing.

“I see,” he said, bitterness starting to creep into his tone. “I guess I just won’t see you for a while then. I’ll just be here in Korea, while you’re off being busy with your career.”

“I warned you, didn’t I?” Y/N’s voice through the phone sounded sad and distant, “that being in a relationship like this would be hard. You know how much my singing means to me, and how busy my life can get. But you were so sure. Are you still sure now?” The sadness in her voice nearly broke his heart. 

Taeyang wished so desperately he could reach out and hold her, but there was an ocean between the two of them, separating them, and causing so much pain. And even if he was close enough to hold her, he wasn’t sure if she would let him with the frustrations between them right now. 

But he had to try his best to salvage the situation. “Yes, I am!” His words tumbled out quickly, “I miss you, a lot, but I know that your career is important to you, I just wish I could see you more. It hurts not seeing you, not being able to be near you.”

“It hurts me too, it really does. But right now, I feel like you’re trying to make me choose between you and my career, and that’s not helping anything.” Her next words were cautious, as if she wasn’t sure how he would respond to them. “You know, you could come visit me.”

“What?” Taeyang asked, once again not sure what to say. Visit her?

Her voice was defensive as she responded, “Yeah, why not? I’ve visited Korea a lot, why not come visit me? You could see what it’s like when I’m on tour and we could have some time together in person. It could be nice.”

“I guess,” he said slowly, “that just seems like a lot. I mean, I might get in the way. And we haven’t talked yet about making our relationship public. We’d have a lot less privacy then we do when we’re in Korea.”

“Are you saying that you don’t want to see me?” Her tone had gone from defensive to almost accusatory as she continued, her tiredness making her more on edge than she might have been otherwise. “I thought you missed me. And I don’t care if our relationship gets found out at this point. I care so much about you Taeyang, and I miss you so much. At least think about it, please.”

Now it was Taeyang’s turn to sigh, “I do miss you. But this just seems like a lot. I’ll think about it, but I just don’t know.”

When Y/N spoke, her voice was soft, but there was an edge to it that he hadn’t heard since she’d found out that he was a fan of hers. “Thanks for at least thinking about it. I should go now, this conversation is unlikely to go anywhere pleasant at this point and I have things to do. I really do care about you Taeyang.”

As soon as she had finished speaking Y/N hung up, not even giving him a chance to say goodbye. Taeyang simply sat there on his bed, a million different thoughts whirling around in his mind, and a pain in his heart that wasn’t going away anytime soon.

\---

After a lot of thinking, and debating, and wondering, Taeyang came to a decision. It might not have been the perfect one, but it seemed like the best one for now. With his thoughts in order he scheduled a time that worked for both himself and Y/N, so they could talk things through, this time on a video call.

As he connected, Taeyang was greeted by the sight of her face, just as beautiful as he always thought it was. He smiled brightly. Despite the seriousness of the call, he was happy to see her. “Hi, Y/N!” He said.

Brushing her hair behind her ear she smiled back, although it was a soft and quiet smile, not nearly as sunny as his. She looked a little tired, but still happy to see him. “Hi, Taeyang. It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too! Are you doing okay? I hope you’ve been able to rest!” He said quickly, concern in his eyes.

She shrugged, “I’m fine, I’ve been getting some rest. Not as much as I’d like, but enough to keep me going.” Letting out a sigh, she kept talking, “Let’s get to the reason for this call, what are your thoughts on coming to visit me while I’m on tour?”

Taeyang took a deep breath. “Y/N, I love you. I really do. And I care about you more than anyone else in the world. But despite that, I don’t feel ready for something as big as visiting you in the US. There would be a lot more people around than when we’re together in Korea. And I want us to be a couple a little longer before we make our relationship public.”

Y/N looked like she wanted to say something, but she waited until he was finished speaking. “That’ll be a really big step, and it could easily change everything, so I want to make sure I’m really ready for that, and I want you to make sure you’re really ready for that as well.”

“And, honestly, as hard as it is to admit it,” he said, taking a moment to pause before he continued, “the idea of people knowing about our relationship scares me. You might be used to being in the public eye, but I’m not, and having the public know about us could lead to some trouble. I want to make sure we’re both ready, so when we do go public it doesn’t affect our relationship. I care about you far too much to do intentionally anything that might put us as a couple in danger.”

Having finished what he wanted to say, Taeyang fell quiet, waiting to see what her response would be. It took a few minutes for Y/N to respond, and he could tell that she had really thought about what he had said.

After what felt like forever, she spoke. “I understand Taeyang. I might not agree completely, but I understand. And I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable about our relationship or worry, so I’ll respect your wishes and not push you about visiting me.”

“But,” she added, “I do want you to come visit me when you’re ready. I want to show you my favorite places, the things I like, the places I know. And I want you to meet my friends and family. All of them that know about us really do want to meet you. I love you too, Taeyang. Thank you for being honest with me.”

It took time for things to be truly mended between Y/N and Taeyang, even after their honest conversation, but through discussing issues when they came up, and as many video calls as her busy schedule could allow, they came to a better place in their relationship. They even talked more about him visiting her, discussing it as a future plan that would happen when they were both ready.

Things weren’t always easy, but together they found ways to make things work. As time went on, they became a loving couple that could work through anything that came their way.

\---

Taeyang gripped the flower bouquet in one hand, holding it tightly while also trying to make sure he didn’t hurt the flowers. It didn’t matter that he’d been dating Y/N for a while now, sometimes he still felt just as nervous as he had on their first date. And today was special, so he had a reason to be nervous. Today, the couple was celebrating their one-year anniversary.

While sometimes their relationship was hard to maintain, he was so glad to be with her. And getting a chance to celebrate their relationship filled him with excitement. This mix of nervous and excited energy made him a little jumpy.

They were meeting at the park, a place with many wonderful memories for them. A lot of things had happened at this particular park, so it had a special place in the hearts of both Taeyang and Y/N. As he stood there waiting, a voice called out, “Taeyang!” and he turned to see Y/N coming towards him.

Every time he saw her, Taeyang was blown away by how beautiful she was, and this was no exception. She had dressed up, wearing clothes still in her usual style, but a bit fancier than he was used to seeing. Their eyes met, and Y/N’s face lit up with a smile that made his heart melt.

Before he lost all his speaking ability, he held the bouquet out to her, his eyes looking at the ground. As he spoke, his cheeks reddened, “These are for you, happy anniversary, Y/N.”

Beaming with delight, she took the flowers, holding them close to her face as she inspected them. “They’re so pretty, thank you so much, Taeyang!” Leaning in close, she reached up and kissed his cheek, giggling as he looked at her, now very flustered. “You even included my favorite flower.”

“Oh, um, you’re welcome.” He managed to say, wincing at how awkward his words sounded, his cheeks still red. He breathed deeply, trying to regain his composure. “How could I give you a bouquet that didn’t have your favorite?” He asked, smiling softly at her.

Now it was her turn to be flustered, the love in Taeyang’s eyes as he smiled at her was almost overwhelming. For Y/N, there was something truly special about his eyes, she thought they were so pretty, and so to have him looking at her like that, with his smile so soft and warm, was a lot to take in.

Once both of them had recovered, they started walking around the park, enjoying each other’s company as they had many times before. Part way through their walk Taeyang reached out for Y/N’s hand, and she let him take it. As he walked with her hand in hand, he knew that nowhere made him feel as at home as he did when Y/N was at his side.

**The End**


End file.
